A great video from PetersBoat.net that speaks about how once you've truly met Christ, all that comes with it can not be "undone" because of scandal in the church.
A great discussion could be to discuss what "changes" when one meets Christ. How are things different?

I’ve been an Amazon customer since 2002 when pretty much the only thing that people used it for was to avoid going to the University bookstore and paying full price for college textbooks. Now Amazon seems to be the first place I look whenever I have need for anything!
To start off this new Catholic Youth Ministry Blog I’ve decided that for my first post I would go through the last 16 years of my Amazon orders and share with you the top 8 things I’ve purchased for youth ministry. Also, please note that if I were to give a true top 8, it would likely include 5-6 books. I’ve decided that I’ll stick to games, resources, supplies, etc. and I’ll devote another post to my favorite books. So here we go:
Please note: these are affiliate links that allow us to receive a portion of any sales made when you purchase these items by clicking through on our site. This "kickback" goes to support the work of the Catholic Youth Ministry Hub.
Games Supplies
Poof Soccer Balls
We tried out three or four types of balls to use for dodge ball in our gym. These were by far the best ones we could find. They are soft enough, they last a long time, and more importantly it feels great when you zing that youth with one of them!
See it here.
Spike Ball
An excellent game to have sitting around in a youth room, at camp, etc. It’s a very common game that most know how to play and it can serve as an excellent ice breaker. It’s also extremely affordable and is great quality!
See it here.
Kan Jam
This was another well known game that I discovered later on than most. Similar to Spike Ball (above) this is affordable, it’ll last forever, and most people can just pick it up and play it.
See it here.
Board/Party Games
Pharisees - The Party Game
This is the "Christian" version of the popular youth ministry game "Mafia". I often tell people it's the perfected version of the game.
See it here.
Curses Game
This is an older game but it’s one of those go-to games that is great for small groups. In larger groups it’s entertaining enough that observers have no problem just watching!
See it here.
Exploding Kittens Game
I have officially ordered 25 of these from Amazon. It is an awesome game that can be played in 3-5 minutes and rarely gets old. It’s another one of those games that observers enjoy watching. It can be expanded to take more players as well.
See it here.
Other
Sleeping Cot
I got tired of air mattresses and these have been an excellent replacement for when we need additional beds at camp or on retreat. They are durable, long lasting, and fairly inexpensive. They aren’t the most comfortable to sleep on but those who have them are usually grateful to have anything!
See it here.
Pope Francis Bobble Head
Definitely the coolest affordable prize that I have bought so far!
See it here.
I hope you've enjoyed this list! If you have other items you'd like to mention, please comment below!

This game was a huge success at our summer camps.
To start you will need one dozen eggs for every two teams. Seven of the eggs in each dozen should be boiled and five should not. Mix them up in the carton so you can't tell which ones are which.
We had the teams (small groups) send a representative up to challenge a representative from another team. They each selected one egg and (on a count of three) smashed it on their head. The first team to get three of the raw eggs lost.
Here is a video of Jimmy Fallon doing this with Ryan Reynolds:
Please share other ideas and stories of your experience of this game below!
Photo by Kate Remmer on Unsplash

The Jail Fundraiser is one of those fundraisers that does far more than raising money. It's a ton a fun, draws in the entire parish community, and it doesn't ever really get old.
To start, this fundraiser only really works if it's part of a larger parish event like a parish bazaar.
Brief Explanation
Set up a space designated as "the jail" where people will be able to sit when they are arrested. It should be able to hold roughly 10-12 people comfortably. People will pay you to have someone else arrested for a set amount of time. You will issue the warrant and the arrested individual will have three options; 1) serve their time, 2) pay to not be arrested, or 3) counter-arrest (post bail and have the person who arrested them be arrested instead).
It's really that simple! Here's our list of tips:
Borrow a large kennel or something to make the jail even more real
Purchase or borrow police outfits, handcuffs, etc. to make the experience even more real.
Ensure there are little information signs all over that explain the process
Put a limit on how many times an individual can be arrested.
Offer something fun to do in the jail (reading, facts about prisons, etc.)
To keep track of finances well, have an adult manage the jail and the log, require warrants for arrest, etc.
Documentation Needed
Arrest Warrant - should include the name of the person arrested, who arrested them, cost, and the three options for the arrested person.
Jail Log - keeps track of finances, arrests, etc.
I'll be putting together a package of resources very soon to make available in the Marketplace. Stay posted!

I've literally been asked dozens of times how I'm able to work in ministry and support my growing family while my wife is also able to stay at home to take care of the house and little ones that are not yet in school. The quick answer is always...we make it work. With the launch of the new Catholic Youth Ministry Hub and the freedom to blog "as I wish" I'm planning to use this space to share ways that my wife and I have been able to make things work. The title "Other Duties as Assigned" gives insights into how we've really been able to make things work.
With my first youth ministry job, I was responsible for the parish website. Using what I learned in that process, I actually started my own web management business. At one time I had about a dozen clients (parishes and local businesses) that paid me a monthly fee to maintain their website for them.
Now that I spend most of my time in my work at the Diocesan level, I get the privilege of consulting and working hand in hand with parishes. I've always desired to share with I have learned. This led me to starting the Catholic Youth Ministry Hub (long ago) as well as several other websites focused on youth ministry, discipleship, etc.
To say it bluntly, while I'm incredibly grateful for the salary and benefits I receive in my Diocesan work and I believe they are paying me what is right and just, it would be extremely difficult for my wife and I to live on that income alone. We have four children, three of which are attending our parish catholic school, and we made a commitment early in our marriage to get out of debt and to never return. About two years ago, with the supplemental income we were bringing in through little side projects, saving through rewards programs, etc, we are now debt free and working on our next financial goals (primarily a 10 year anniversary vacation and small (overdue) home improvement projects).
Anyway, I'm hopeful that this new blog will give me a space to share with you many things that I have learned and have allowed me to stay in ministry and continue doing what I love!
Be sure to click the follow button above to receive emails and updates when I post to the blog!

What a smash hit. We were all laughing so hard our face hurt.
Wednesday night is a smaller, more reserved bunch. It got them all awake!.
There was only one who managed to avoid the middle altogether.
I congratulated him on his poker face. He said "I just channeled my inner irritations."
LOL

The article focuses on contributions to the Blogs, Free Resources, Video Library, etc.
For guidelines regarding our discussion forums, go here.
For guidelines regarding Contributing to the Marketplace, go here.
Introduction
Our hope is that the Catholic Youth Ministry Hub platform will make it easy for anyone to share their insights, resources, and ideas with others involved in catholic youth ministry by offering a convenient blogging platform as well as a consignment shop that makes selling original resources simple.
Guidelines for Contributing
General Blogs
All content must be original and not posted anywhere else.
Posts should be at least 250 words.
Images used can not violate copyright law.
Posts may be edited by our editing team to correct simple grammar and punctuation errors. Posts that require too much editing will be moved to draft form and a note will be sent to the author.
General blog posts will earn 250-1500 YM Bucks depending on quality, length, originality, etc. These do require a manual review and may take some time to reward.
Resource Blogs (Games, Fundraisers, Etc.)
All community members are able to contribute the resource blogs.
It is understandable that some ideas used may also be listed on other web sites. That being said, contributions must still be original in content (you can't just copy and paste from other websites).
Please only share ideas that you have tried and were successful!
For games, fundraisers, etc. posts should include supplies needed, instructions, tips, etc.
Images used can not violate copyright law.
Posts may be edited by our editing team to correct simple grammar and punctuation errors. Posts that require too much editing will be moved to draft form and a note will be sent to the author.
Contributions towards these areas can earn anywhere from 100-500 YM Bucks. These do require a manual review and may take some time to reward.
Video Library Contribution
Videos submitted to our video library should fall within one of the categories listed.
It is permissible to share videos that are not your own provided they can be embedded (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.)
Videos should include a brief description/explanation.
Video submission can earn anywhere from 50-250 YM Bucks.
Videos that include a few good discussion questions to go along with the video will be given the highest reward.
If you have not received your YM Bucks within seven days of your submission, please contact us.
Finally, to maintain consistency to our audience, contributions are "locked" after a certain period of time. Should there be a reason that you need to remove a contribution, make further edits, etc. please contact us.

For me the trick is then having a follow up ready to go for temporary program. Particularly if it goes well, after it finishes, I'm not always ready with the next thing to KEEP them engaged and coming back. I will whole heartedly agree with all of these! Just stating my own weakness in this area!

We actually purchased a bible version of "TABOO"
Our teens LOVE it.
You could easily do it yourself without buying the game though.
All you need is a timer, a buzzer & some Bible/Catholic trivia questions.
We have also discovered, this game is great at giving you insight to their personalities.
You see who is competitive, who leads naturally as well as who is reserved.

I wholeheartedly agree with the "temporary" program usage. We have been using this method a couple years now.
For example, last year we did a 7 part series on the 7 deadly sins. I always do an exit poll at the end of the year (currently we only run with ccd, but hope to change that). That series was their favorite for various reasons.
I think part of it is, the fact you are not on the same topic for what seems to their attention spans as forever.
Not to mention, if a particular subject needs to be a deeper dive, then you have the freedom. Also you can often target key areas that can create future sessions!

Does anyone here use "models" for leading praise and worship? I think it's important to leave room for the Spirit to do his thing, but I am a big fan of the Temple model. For those unfamiliar with the term, it short it is based off of the Temple in Jerusalem. The basic gist is you move from the "outer courts" to the "inner courts" to the "Holy of Holies", in praise music this means going from upbeat in the beginning, to mid tempo, to really soft and almost contemplative, leading into silence and contemplation. I've found it to be really successful in leading people into a prayerful awareness of the presence of God. I wanted to see if anyone had different models that they find effective and want to share about and get some discussion going!

For most praise and worship songs, I use ultimate-guitar.com. I like that it allows me to transpose the song sheets and gives options for chord sheets and font. The downside is that the chords are often placed in the wrong spot, which throws some people off. Where are some of the places you get your music sheets, or other ways around this?